Green Leafy Organic Superfood!

Posted by Avena Originals on Monday, March 6th, 2017

The Forgotten Superfood

Miracle Food Hiding in Plain Sight

Would you believe me if I told you there was a miraculous food that could heal you; a food that has been under your nose, hidden in plain sight this whole time? When searching for that missing link in of healthy foods, I finally stumbled across it; a special ingredient that is universally accepted as an important, if not critical component to a healthy diet and life. What could be the missing element in our diet to promote health and wellness? An ingredient agreed upon, even by people who have dieted on the far reaches of the food spectrum? What is the miracle component I found?

The Common Denominator all Cultures and Traditions Share…

From across the globe, each area has its own unique food habits and traditions that are passed down. Ranging from groups who consume high volumes of meat in the high north to those who base their diet primarily around fruit, and everywhere in between, you have diet variances as well: meat, no meat, vegan, raw, cooked, grain free, gluten free, local, organic, premade meals. The sheer variety of the types of foods we can eat is staggering. What’s the common denominator? What food spans the world and is valued in every diet? Which one has the capacity to heal, nourish, sustain, and that we can all can agree on?

Leafy GREENS!!

Those leafy green vegetables that often get overlooked and forgotten when we mention our 5-10 servings a day fruits and veggies that are as recommended in the Canadian/American food guides. Why do these little gems of nutrients get overlooked? Well, because they’re not as flashy as your bananas or apples. Greens also tend to have that very specific earthy flavour and flare, that many of us are not fond of. This was the original understanding when Avena Originals created the Superfood product.

When you eat greens you recognise the taste. The crunch of lettuce in a sandwich or salad could never be mistaken; the peppery flavour of arugula or the pop of freshness of spearmint. This family of foods is very distinctive. It’s the finer properties of them that we tend to overlook.

The Blood of the Plants

Leafy green vegetables are a phenomenal source of a complex variety of nutrients, the combination of which is only found in them. Take for example chlorophyll. This is found exclusively in green plants and has numerous benefits to us. The one benefit most explored and researched is how chlorophyll directly helps the blood in our bodies. Physically the chlorophyll molecule is identical to hemoglobin, the core of our blood. The only difference is that hemoglobin is anchored by iron, whereas chlorophyll has magnesium as the centre. When you ingest chlorophyll, this goes in and helps support and boost your blood. Your body sees this and uses it much in the same way it does hemoglobin. If you’re low in iron or hemoglobin, having additional chlorophyll in your diet is essential to help offset the symptoms and ailments associated with low hemoglobin levels. There’s an old saying about chlorophyll, ‘the blood of the plants is good for the blood of the body’. Never undervalue the importance of GREENS in your diet!

Chlorophyll molecule is identical to hemoglobin, the core of our blood.

Nutrient Rich Fibres

There is much more to GREENS than first meets the eye. Let’s explore the fibre they provide. Referred to by any number of names such as fibre, roughage, bulk, and grit among others, but no matter which word you use to describe it, they all mean the same thing. This source of critical fibre help your body by helping your bowels; how they do this is fascinating our bodies are naturally designed to consume greens (we have flat teeth/molars). When you chew your greens, you release the nutrients and minerals from the foods; unlike other forms of fibre; this form is packed full of natural existing nutrients. Choosing dark green vegetables for fibre will outperform whole grains every time!

Finding The “LOST” Enzyme

The human body does not produce Cellulase enzymes, which breaks down plant fibre. With the decrease in raw leafy green consumption, we have begun the process of losing Cellulase in our lifestyles. So if we don’t naturally produce Cellulase to break down these cell walls, is eating these fibrous and indigestible nutrients a good thing? First, I should mention that while we don’t create this enzyme it is naturally present in raw foods that haven’t been processed or cooked. Nature intended cellulase to be present every time we consumed leafy greens. These small pieces of fibre act as a gentle brush through the intestines. This fibre is so small, micro-sized to be correct, acts inside the bowel as a way of gently cleansing. If you’re not getting the required fibre in your diet your bowel can begin to struggle to keep up.

A Secret Weapon Against Candida

High yeast levels, or ‘Candida’, are a common issue in North America. These high levels are well known to cause sugar cravings. Cellulase has a wonderful proven track record of contributing to breaking down Candida infections; many nutritionists believe it is because Candida uses fibre like webbing as a protection. When we ingest a substantial amount of uncooked greens we introduce a high level of Cellulase enzymes which can digest and break down Candida defences, allowing our probiotics and enzymes to be far more effective.

The human body does not produce Cellulase enzymes which break down fibre.

Fill Up On Greens

Eating foods naturally high in fibre, like those leafy green vegetables, can also help in some specific ways, specifically to diet/food. When you consume high fibre foods, people tend to get a feeling of ‘fullness’ from eating.

Have you ever been surprised when eating a salad that you’re quite full and that you feel satisfied? This is why everyone should eat their greens. It also helps in another aspect; greens and the fibres present can have a dramatic impact on blood sugar levels and sugar cravings.

Controlling Nutrient Absorptions

Greens are excellent for those who need to monitor sugar intake or are concerned about sugar cravings. When you consume foods rich in fibre, this fibre slows down the uptake and release of glucose into the body. This means that while your body slows down to digest and break down this food as much as it can, the glucose (which is the fastest nutrient converted from food) is brought down to a more sustainable digestive rate. A candy bar or glass of juice will give you that instant jolt of glucose without any fibre to slow it down; if you added say spinach, romaine, or kale to that orange juice and make it a smoothie, this reduces the instant pop of glucose and instead gives you a more moderate and sustainable amount. For those who have blood sugar imbalances, fibre becomes invaluable for levelling out the sugar spikes found in food.

Sugar & Green Factor

There are a few things to consider regarding your sugar cravings. First, is the mental or emotional aspect of cravings and addictions: second would be the bodies’ physical need or dependence. Focusing on the physical aspect, there are many traits unique to greens when it comes to sugar. Already, I’ve discussed how fibre naturally slows the absorption of sugar, but did you know that greens in particular also can change how your body views sugars and sweets? There are some bitter herbs that can actually affect the way that your system treats certain foods. For those who constantly consume sugary foods or beverages, they may find that their bodies need that food. When looking at a cookie, the mouth begins to water and the tummy may grumble.

The desire for sugar is a constant struggle for many, more pronounced in those who have Candida. When someone begins to eat more leafy green vegetables and herbs these begin to reshape or retrain the taste buds.

How each of us views food, and how our body physically reacts to food sometimes don’t mesh. It’s when these two align, that we can begin to see great progress in our overall health. When you know sugar is bad and you don’t want it, your body doesn’t crave overly sweet foods.

Plethora of Nutrients

There are many other bonuses to green foods aside from the fibre and chlorophyll, chief among them is minerals. In greens, you’ll find high volumes of magnesium, as well as a plethora of other minerals (iron, selenium, and calcium).

Don’t forget it’s not just the mineral content of these foods that’s so great; one other little-known flavinoid that is starting to make its name spoken more and more is called Apigenin (this is found in high quantities in herbs and greens such as parsley, thyme and chamomile). A very recent study published by Brazilian researchers found that this component can actually help improve learning and memory! Another lesser known ingredient in greens sulforaphane has shown in multiple studies to activate the anti-inflammatory genes, as well as decrease inflammation in the brain after a stimulus.

Together, this all contributes to better brain boosting power. So where do you find sulforaphane? I’ll give you one guess; look for this nutrient in…you guessed it, greens. Kale tends to be a great source of this particular goodie but also found in other leafy vegetables.

Wealth Of Nutrition In A Unique Package

Greens are literally a wealth of nutrition in a unique package. It is these minerals and metal nutrients that help to provide the alkalinity and balance to our bodies. Minerals are the buffer for negative foods; unfortunately sweet, sugary foods, carbonated beverages, and caffeine tend to leech or pull minerals from the body. If they’re not ‘pulling’ them, they’re reducing the amount that is available from the food you’re eating. You can almost picture a virtual teeter totter or balance scales. Greens can go on one side to help cleanse the body while providing high nutrition, the opposite side would be all those foods that we love to eat more than we should. With such a valuable, nutrient dense food, why do we consistently ignore or avoid it?

Where Does It End?

Wait, don’t forget along with flavanoids, minerals, and alkalizing buffers, these chlorophyll toting and sugar craving killing leafy greens still contain more! There are many vitamins that are most prevalent in cruciferous veggies.

Incorporate Leafy Greens Today

If you’re looking to add greens into your diet or lifestyle because you understand just how excellent they are to your health, the next step becomes how you incorporate them. This is where handy kitchen tools can become useful. Traditionalists will love just to have simple greens, maybe make salads with them, and just generally consume them in their raw form. This is a fantastic way to become familiar with these foods as you tend to get an idea of the differences in flavours even from green leaf to green leaf. Have you ever tried plain arugula? It has a slight peppery flavour. The simple and classic spinach leaf is always great to give you that vibrant green colour with a mild ‘green flavour’. Those who are adventurous can begin to look at kale, chard, or collard greens.

DID YOU KNOW?

JUICING VERSUS BLENDING

Well, which one is better? Juices or Smoothies. The truth is they’re both amazing, but each has their own pro’s that the other doesn’t. The main difference between the two is fibre. So when you’re looking for fibre, reach for the blender to make a smoothie. If you’re looking to condense nutrients and get more by consuming less, a juicer is your friend.

Exploring the Ways to Consume Greens

We can eat greens in all sorts of ways, often the first thing that comes to mind is a salad, but use the chart below to compare the differences between Salads, Smoothies, Juices, and Supplements. Salads will have the highest fibre content but due to the limitation of how much you can eat the nutritional density is less. Supplements are the highest density as you can remove most of the fibre and concentrate the nutrition.

DID YOU KNOW?

VITAMIN K

Those leafy green veggies are some of the best sources of vitamin K. Although present in some other green fruits (avocado, kiwi and grapes) your greatest source is greens.

What’s The Best Leafy Green

Spinach is the most common green leafy food, and although spinach is great you can over consume it. Spinach also contains oxalate which if over consumed is known to contribute to kidney stones. The moral of this story is to eat a wide variety of greens.

Juicing or Blending?

The main issue that so many of us encounter with greens is that while they are incredibly nutrient dense, the calories and fullness factor don’t always match up. Sometimes you can eat a large salad and feel happy, other times it will simply whet your appetite for something more; plus, not everyone enjoys a salad everyday, there are those who like to change things up.

How can we incorporate more greens?

A fantastic way of getting more greens into your body (literally a higher volume of greens) is to use kitchen tools such as a juicer or blender. Now, each will have its benefits and ease of use. The biggest difference compared to traditional greens is that when you’re juicing or blending your greens you’re actually getting more greens in. What could take you 20 minutes to eat in a salad, you’re now able to ingest in 2 minutes simply by changing the delivery method. For those who have compromised digestion you may find that this will be gentler on your digestive tract. Try our amazing green smoothie here.

For those who are seeking maximum nutrition inside the body with the least amount of exertion, by using a juicer or blender, you can give yourself much more while using less of a ‘draw’ on your body’s own energies.

Experience Avena Originals Superfood

Avena has one SUPER product that will give you barrels full of greens in one sitting – our Superfood.
A product that is sadly not as flashy as our Enzymes, Probiotics, or our Herb Cocktail. Make no mistake though, this Superfood is powerful!

What is in our superfood?

Containing a vast array of greens in condensed form, it could almost be called a Superfood (thus the name). Avena’s Superfood has ingredients that combine all the best of greens from around the globe. Including such items as: Ginkgo Biloba, Kelp, Echinacea, Irish Moss, Celery Seed, Kale leaf, Milk Thistle and many more. The focus in Avena’s Superfood is a smorgasbord of all the beneficial greens, all condensed into one wonderful place, Electrically Formulated™ to ensure maximum absorption with little to no stress on your system. Easy to take too!

Why should we supplement?

This is exactly why products like Avena’s Superfood are around. To help fill in and boost all those extra areas that are hard to obtain from everyday life. The chances we consume enough nutrition are low; even if you are eating plenty of greens, our food today just isn’t what it used to be.

It translates into the fact that our choice foods today, while tasty, may not hold the bounty of yester year.

The good news, is we can offset this through supplementation. Even the best foods such as greens, nutrient dense as they are, still require substantial quantities if you’d like to improve your health; this leads to a higher demand for consuming them in abundance through alternative ways such as supplementation.

The Power Of Greens Should Never Be Forgotten.

On their own they may not make you crave their unique flavour. The taste notwithstanding, it is critical though to have them as a staple of your diet. If you’re not eating enough then you need to find ways to get more. The power and potential of your health lies in your hands, and what you put in your mouth, literally. So reach for some greens, eat a giant salad, have a glass of green juice, and supplement with Avena’s Superfood to supercharge your body.
Find out what you’ve been missing and how much better your days could be, by simply getting your greens in. They really are the secret, yet not-so-secret gift, you can give yourself for amazing health.

UNDERSTANDING SOME OF THE POWER IN AVENA’S SUPERFOOD

Echinacea Root: is phenomenal for helping the body’s immune system

Kelp and Dulse: ocean greens that offer the best natural source of iodine (thyroid food)